FEMA to view damage from storms

Six teams of federal and state officials will fan out across storm-ravaged areas in Illinois Tuesday to begin the process of possibly having some counties declared federal disaster areas.

Illinois already has declared the six counties around Chicago state disaster areas, which makes available state trucks and inmate work crews for cleanup should counties request them, said Patti Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Some municipalities may be eligible for funding as well.

The next steps include the assessment by IEMA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on just how much damage there is. That begins Tuesday with the six teams, said Jean Baker, FEMA spokeswoman.

Although the two agencies will be going out Tuesday, homeowners with damage should still make sure to report damage they have. In the suburbs, that usually means calling village officials and notifying them of the damage. The towns, in turn, report that to the county disaster agency, which reports it to the state, said Ibis Antongiorgi, spokeswoman for Cook County.

Home and business owners "should make sure that they get on that list, so they do get assessed," said Thompson.

Thursday night, Winnebago and Stephenson counties were declared a federal disaster area for an unrelated, Aug. 7 flash flood those two counties suffered. Assessment and determination is likely to take longer here because the flooding was not flash flooding, but riverbank flooding, which takes longer to subside, allowing assessments on damage to be made, said Thompson.

If federal disaster areas are declared, individual homeowners may become eligible for grants or low-interest loans, said Baker.